Colorado Technical University - Essay Example

We have been in constant contact during the last few weeks and your involvement in the design and development is crucial for the success of the University of Tong’s New Student Class Registration System. At this point in the project, we are working on data requirements, conceptual design, and an entity-relationship diagram of the database system. Now, in the final stage of database development, we will use prototyping to keep you involved and confident in our progress. Below, I will discuss the role of prototyping in the database development process and the benefits of taking extra time to test and revise a design.

Nowadays, more and more companies are pulling away from the traditional Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and using Prototyping categorized as Rapid Application Development (RAD) methods (Hoffer, Prescott, & McFadden, 2007). In general, prototyping is a development approach in which requirements are quickly converted to a working system that is repeatedly analyzed and refined until the desired product is achieved. In the case of the database development process, prototyping allows the installation and use of a database that is not complete yet has the majority of the functionality built in. Prototyping is a cursory attempt at conceptual data modeling and defining a database during the development of the initial prototype. After that initial prototype version is repeatedly implemented and used and maintenance activities are carried out so that new prototype versions become an efficient prototype or operational system (Hoffer, Prescott, & McFadden, 2007). Here, it is important that more time is given to test and revise the database design after the initial prototype version is developed.

The most important aspect of prototyping is that it facilitates effective communication between users and developers. Because of active participation of both users and developers, feedback for enhancement of the system is available after every prototype version to developers from end users.  The other advantages of prototyping are higher user satisfaction, reduction in development time and cost, and improved efficiency in implementation. 

If you have any questions regarding any of the above information, please feel free to contact me